Travel Planners Say AI Is a Good Starting Point for a Trip, but Not the Final Word

Travelers may use chatbots to help plan their vacation, but when it’s time to book, most say they want a trip planned by someone who has actually been there.

In a survey by tour operator Explore Worldwide, 78% of respondents said they are more likely to book a trip designed by someone with firsthand experience of the destination. Only 11% said they were very confident using AI to choose a destination and book their vacation.

The findings come as more travelers turn to AI. In a summer survey for software company Qlik, 58% of Americans planning a trip said they used AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude; only 14% used human travel agents.

“The research shows us that people are seeking a balance between at-their-fingertips digital tools and trusted human expertise,” said Katy Rockett, Explore Worldwide’s regional director of North America.

Using AI is not the same as trusting it

In a YouGov survey for Expedia Group, 53% of adults in the U.S., U.K., and India said they were comfortable letting AI suggest travel options, though only 8% were comfortable booking through an AI platform.

“Travelers don’t have a technology problem with AI. They have a trust problem,” said Xavi Amatriain, Expedia Group’s chief AI and data officer.

Answers can also depend on where the AI thinks you are. In tests by VPN provider Planet VPN, ChatGPT named a different “most overrated” tourist destination depending on the user’s apparent location: Times Square for a British user, Santorini for an American and Dubrovnik for a German, the company said.

Half of people who use AI for travel say it has led them astray

AI accuracy is a big part of the problem. Among Explore Worldwide respondents who lacked confidence in using AI, half cited accuracy concerns, and 39% worried the results would be too generic. Those worries have some basis; in an August survey commissioned by Greetwell, 55% of travelers who used AI got at least one wrong recommendation, such as a place that was closed, booked, or didn’t exist.

Even with small tasks, many travelers don’t trust AI. The same Greetwell survey found that more than half of respondents had little to no trust in AI to book a restaurant reservation without checking it first, which seems to undercut the efficiency of using AI in the first place.

Some mistakes are costly. Rob DelliBovi, CEO at RDB Hospitality Group, shared that he recently had a client lose thousands of dollars in tax refunds because AI told them the tax refund stop in the Milan airport was after security, not before. Karilyn Owen, a trip planner for travel company Adventure Life, said a client used an AI-generated itinerary that had them touring the Vatican on a Sunday, when it’s closed.

AI also struggles with distance and pacing. Trip planner Jason Maynard said that a young family asked AI to fit Cape Town, the Garden Route, the Winelands and Kruger National Park into one trip. Their chatbot told them they could visit one destination in the morning and another in the afternoon.

That plan “would be impossible unless they had a magic helicopter or spaceship,” Maynard said. He adds that AI cannot account for the necessary pacing of traveling with a child or that an eight-year-old might not enjoy a wine and food tour.

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AI can surface hotels or experiences that were great years ago but have since declined — or even closed, adds Monika Sundem, Adventure Life’s CEO. “It often strings together top sights without factoring in real-world logistics like road conditions, travel time, or transport limitations.”

AI as a starting point

For many travelers, AI is now the first stop. Safari company Extraordinary Journeys said inquiries from ChatGPT and similar tools rose more than 600% in the last year, many with itineraries already drafted.

Emmanuel Burgio, founder and CEO of Blue Parallel, which designs private trips for wealthy clients, sees the same pattern. Clients arrive with AI itineraries, he said, “but clients still look to us to determine what is realistic, what is worth their time, and what will genuinely deliver on the ground.”

Travel Agents use the tools too. Jess Heuermann, a trip planner named to Travel + Leisure’s A-List of top travel advisers, said AI is most useful in the margins of a trip, such as finding a restaurant, a museum, or dinner ideas.

“These are small details you can easily work around if AI gets it wrong,” she said. “These are not the pillars of your trip that create a truly great experience.”

Other travel companies see the same split. “Travelers are embracing AI as an assistant, not an authority,” said Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, a travel risk and rescue firm. In a Global Rescue survey released in September, nearly 60% of travelers said they trust AI travel information only after checking it elsewhere.

Human planning is essential

Travelers who have worked with a planner say it pays off. Of the 42% of Explore respondents who had used a vacation-planning professional, 92% said it was helpful, including 53% who said it was very helpful.

Planners say the biggest gap shows up when a trip goes off course. “When something goes wrong, there’s no one to step in, adjust plans, or leverage relationships to fix issues,” Sundem said of AI.

Heuermann agreed. “Only a human can hop on the phone and help sort out a missed transfer or delayed flight,” she said.

She said AI also cannot judge what a place feels like. “AI has not had boots on the ground. It can’t tell you how loud a hotel room is (or isn’t) at night,” Heuermann said.

“AI can tell you what is good in the aggregate; it can’t tell you what is good for you.”